Page 13 of August
“Or, taking a break,” Melinda suggested with a lifted eyebrow. “Like, even just one day off.”
“I take days off.”
“Really? Name one day you took off this month.”
“Well, not this month, but…” Myra thought back to the previous month. “And not last month, but I took the afternoon off for my mom’s birthday.”
“Because she told you that she brought you into this world, and she could take you out of it if you didn’t,” Melinda noted.
Myra laughed and replied, “Thatdoessound like her.”
“Back to hot Elisa,” Jill said. “What’s confusing?”
“Not confusing. I think that’s the wrong word. It’s just that sheisbeautiful. She’s got this brown hair and bright-blue eyes. I’m a sucker for that combination. I don’t know if she’s Italian or Hispanic or maybe–”
“She’s hot. We get it. Tell us about the confusing part,” Jill insisted.
“Does your girlfriend like your impatience?” Myra asked through her laughter.
“She doesn’t know about it. I’m not impatient with her.” Jill shrugged.
“Not even in bed?” Melinda asked.
“That’snone of your business,” Jill said.
“Turnabout isn’t fair play, I suppose,” Kyle noted with a lifted eyebrow aimed at Jill.
“Myra, back to you.” Melinda motioned for her to continue.
“There’s not much else to say, really. I’ve only been over there twice for work, and she’s nice. She’s sweet and just out of a complicated divorce, I think. She has twins: a boy and a girl. They’re eighteen and about to go to college, but they arekind of acting out because of the divorce and the move here. It seems like she’s just doing the best she can to start over, and I can empathize with that.”
“But she’s straight?” Jill asked.
“I assume so. It’s not like I asked her. She’s technically a client who just also happens to be my neighbor. I don’t want to make things awkward. When I told her aboutmyex, though, I did mention she was my ex-wife, and Elisa didn’t really react to that.”
“So, she doesn’t have a problem with it?” Kyle asked.
“I don’t think so. It didn’t seem that way. Although, Iamgiving her a hell of a discount on the work, and she probably knows that if she did her research. She seems like the kind of woman who would. So, she might not want to say she has a problem with it because she needs the work done.”
“You could always try talking to her about it,” Jill suggested. “Like, casually as you’re hammering things.”
Jill made a motion as if she were holding an invisible hammer.
“Is that what you think I do? Hammer things?” Myra laughed.
“I don’t know. I can barely cook a meal. I’m not sure how you build an entire house. You do that, right?”
“I have, yes, but not usually,” Myra said, still laughing. “And I do less work in the field than I used to because I now have payroll and business things to do, but yes, I also hammer things still, just not all the time.”
“But you’ll be there with a hammer, probably, and she’ll be there because it’s her house,” Jill said. “You could just talk to her.”
“Get to know her,” Melinda added.
“And see if it’s a friendship,” Kyle said.
Melinda and Jill both looked at her in confusion.
“What? I’m pragmatic.” Kyle shrugged a shoulder. “If she’s straight, Myra doesn’t want to get her hopes up, right?”
